Patents Examined by Hsien C Tsai
  • Patent number: 11721536
    Abstract: A single type quadrupole mass spectrometer equipped with an ion source by the ESI method, which is a small device including a vacuum pump having a relatively small evacuation speed. The internal diameter of a desolvation tube for introducing ions from an ionization chamber into a first intermediate vacuum chamber is set to 0.4 mm ?, which is large for a small mass spectrometer. The evacuation speed of a rotary pump is determined so that the product of the cross-sectional opening area of the desolvation tube and the pressure in the first intermediate vacuum chamber falls within a range of 15 to 40 mm2·Pa. This can ensure high detection sensitivity and reduce clogging of the desolvation tube due to droplets. Since the pressure in the first intermediate vacuum chamber does not need to be increased more than necessary, a small rotary pump having a small evacuation speed can be used.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2023
    Assignee: SHIMADZU CORPORATION
    Inventors: Manabu Ueda, Tomohito Nakano, Yuki Tanaka
  • Patent number: 11709149
    Abstract: Examples are directed toward systems and methods relating to collecting and analyzing samples. For example, a system includes a cold trap that directly collects a sample. The cold trap operates to serve as a collection filter while the system draws in a flow across the cold trap. A thermal heater, coupled to the cold trap, flash heats the cold trap to produce a released sample from the cold trap at a release concentration. An analyzer entrains the released sample at the release concentration into a sampling flow of the analyzer for analysis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2022
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2023
    Assignee: The Government of the United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of Homeland Security
    Inventors: Barry T. Smith, John Brady, Jeffrey Barber
  • Patent number: 11710618
    Abstract: An ion implanter includes a high energy multistage linear acceleration unit for accelerating an ion beam. The high energy multistage linear acceleration unit includes high frequency accelerators in a plurality of stages provided along a beamline through which the ion beam travels, and electrostatic quadrupole lens devices in a plurality of stages provided along the beamline. The electrostatic quadrupole lens device in each of the stages includes a plurality of lens electrodes facing each other in a radial direction perpendicular to an axial direction, and disposed at an interval in a circumferential direction, an upstream side cover electrode covering a beamline upstream side of the plurality of lens electrodes and including a beam incident port, and a downstream side cover electrode covering a beamline downstream side of the plurality of lens electrodes and including a beam exiting port.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2022
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2023
    Assignee: SUMITOMO HEAVY INDUSTRIES ION TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Haruka Sasaki, Kouji Inada, Hayao Kawai
  • Patent number: 11705252
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to an electron-optical module of an electron-optical apparatus. The electron-optical module comprises a vacuum chamber, a high voltage shielding arrangement located within the vacuum chamber, and an aperture array configured to form a plurality of beamlets from an electron beam and located within the high voltage shielding arrangement. Wherein the electron-optical module can be configured to be removable from the electron-optical apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2023
    Assignee: ASML Netherlands B.V.
    Inventors: Alexander Hendrik Vincent Van Veen, Willem Henk Urbanus, Marco Jan-Jaco Wieland
  • Patent number: 11705303
    Abstract: Provided is a sample loading method of loading a cooled sample into a sample exchange chamber of a charged particle beam apparatus includes: attaching the sample container in which a sample and liquid nitrogen are accommodated to the sample exchange chamber via a gate valve; evacuating a space between a liquid surface of the liquid nitrogen and the gate valve in a state in which the gate valve is closed; discharging the liquid nitrogen in the sample container after the space between the liquid surface of the liquid nitrogen and the gate valve has been evacuated; evacuating a space in the sample container after the liquid nitrogen in the sample container has been discharged; and opening the gate valve after the space in the sample container has been evacuated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2022
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2023
    Assignee: JEOL Ltd.
    Inventors: Tomoyuki Naganuma, Naoki Fujimoto, Takeshi Kaneko
  • Patent number: 11699569
    Abstract: There is provided an ion implanter including a beamline unit that transports an ion beam, an implantation processing chamber in which an implantation process of irradiating a wafer with an ion beam is performed, an illumination device that performs irradiation with illumination light in a direction intersecting with a transport direction of the ion beam in at least one of the beamline unit and the implantation processing chamber, an imaging device that generates a captured image captured by imaging a space through which the illumination light passes, and a control device that detects a particle which scatters the illumination light, based on the captured image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2023
    Assignee: SUMITOMO HEAVY INDUSTRIES ION TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Aki Ninomiya, Takanori Yagita, Takao Morita, Sayumi Hirose
  • Patent number: 11699582
    Abstract: A coupling for connecting together vacuum-based analytical systems requiring to be vibrationally isolated, comprising: a tubular connector having a longitudinal axis, the connector comprising a first end for connection to a first analytical system and a flexible portion reducing transmission of vibrations and permitting displacement of the first analytical system in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of the connector; and a seal longitudinally separated from the flexible portion, for vacuum sealing between the connector and a second analytical system; wherein the connector contains ion optics for transmitting ions between the first and second analytical systems.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2023
    Assignees: FEI Company, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Breman) GmbH
    Inventors: Alexander Makarov, Wilko Balschun, Kyle Fort, Kun Liu
  • Patent number: 11699565
    Abstract: An ion implantation system, ion source, and method are provided having a gaseous aluminum-based ion source material. The gaseous aluminum-based ion source material can be, or include, dimethylaluminum chloride (DMAC), where the DMAC is a liquid that transitions into vapor phase at room temperature. An ion source receives and ionizes the gaseous aluminum-based ion source material to form an ion beam. A low-pressure gas bottle supplies the DMAC as a gas to an arc chamber of the ion source by a primary gas line. A separate, secondary gas line supplies a co-gas, such as a fluorine-containing molecule, to the ion source, where the co-gas and DMAC reduce an energetic carbon cross-contamination and/or increase doubly charged aluminum.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2023
    Assignee: Axcelis Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Neil K. Colvin, Neil Bassom, Edward Moore
  • Patent number: 11692968
    Abstract: An apparatus comprising an ion selecting device; an individual ion counter device; and an interface device integral with the ion selecting device and downstream of an ion separating chamber of the ion selecting device. The interface device comprises a tagging particle generator and a tagging chamber. Sample gas containing ions of a selected mobility enters the tagging chamber from the ion selecting device and is exposed to uncharged neutral tagging particles from the tagging particle generator. The ions collide with the tagging particles to form a mixture of tagged ions and uncharged neutral tagging particles which is then separated in a tagged ions separator forming part of the individual ion counting device before the separated tagged ions are counted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2023
    Assignee: ANCON TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED
    Inventors: Boris Zachar Gorbunov, Michael Douglas Burton
  • Patent number: 11670532
    Abstract: A system and method for controlling electrostatic clamping of multiple platens on a spinning disk is disclosed. The system comprises a semiconductor processing system, such as a high energy implantation system. The semiconductor processing system produces a spot ion beam, which is directed to a plurality of workpieces, which are disposed on a spinning disk. The spinning disk comprises a rotating central hub with a plurality of platens. The plurality of platens may extend outward from the central hub and workpieces are electrostatically clamped to the platens. The central hub provides the electrostatic clamping voltages to each of the plurality of platens. Further, the plurality of platens may also be capable of rotation about an axis orthogonal to the rotation axis of the central hub. The central hub controls the rotation of each of the platens. Power connections and communications are provided to the central hub via the spindle assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2023
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Scott E. Peitzsch, Robert Mitchell
  • Patent number: 11664191
    Abstract: According to one aspect of the present invention, an electron beam irradiation apparatus includes a photoelectric surface configured to receive irradiation of excitation light on a side of a front surface, and generate electron beams from a side of a back surface; a blanking aperture array mechanism provided with passage holes corresponding to the electron beams and configured to perform deflection control on each of the plurality of electron beams passing through the passage holes; and an adjustment mechanism configured to adjust at least one of an orbit of transmitted light that passes through at least one of arrangement objects including the photoelectric surface, the blanking aperture array mechanism, and the limit aperture substrate up to the stage and reaches the stage, among an irradiated excitation light, and an orbit of the electron beams, wherein the arrangement objects shield at least a part of the transmitted light.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2023
    Assignee: NuFlare Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Taku Yamada, Kota Iwasaki
  • Patent number: 11651946
    Abstract: A mass spectrometer includes a vacuum chamber, a turbomolecular pump, and a roughing pump. The vacuum chamber is divided into a low vacuum chamber and a high vacuum chamber respectively provided with, on their wall surfaces, a first opening and a second opening. The turbomolecular pump has an operation chamber including in its inside a blade rotor and being provided with a first intake port, and an exhaust chamber communicating with the operation chamber and being provided with a second intake port and an exhaust port. The turbomolecular pump is placed so that the high vacuum chamber and the operation chamber communicate with each other through the second opening and the first intake port, and the low vacuum chamber and the exhaust chamber communicate with each other through the first opening and the second intake port. The roughing pump is connected to the exhaust port.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2023
    Assignee: SHIMADZU CORPORATION
    Inventor: Yusuke Sakagoshi
  • Patent number: 11653438
    Abstract: An EUV light source module includes an EUV vessel, a collector disposed in the EUV vessel, a droplet generator, a droplet catcher, and a droplet collecting system. The droplet generator is coupled to the EUV vessel and configured to provide a plurality of target droplets into the EUV vessel. The droplet catcher is coupled to the EUV vessel and configured to catch at least a target droplet from the EUV vessel. The droplet colleting system is coupled to the droplet catcher. The droplet collecting system includes a connecting port coupled to the droplet catcher, and a thermal insulating device surrounding the droplet catcher. The droplet generator and the droplet catcher are disposed at opposite locations in the EUV vessel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2023
    Assignee: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY LTD.
    Inventors: Yu-Fa Lo, Ming-Hsun Tsai, Shang-Chieh Chien
  • Patent number: 11651947
    Abstract: A mass spectrometer includes a first vacuum chamber, which is provided with an atmospheric pressure interface communicating with an external atmospheric pressure environment and to a first vacuum pump, the range of working pressure P1 of the first vacuum chamber being P1>30 mbar; a second vacuum chamber, which is connected to the first vacuum chamber by means of a vacuum interface to receive the analyte from the first vacuum chamber and to a second vacuum pump, the range of working pressure P2 of the second vacuum chamber being 0.5 mbar?P2?30 mbar; and a third vacuum chamber, which is connected to the second vacuum chamber by means of a vacuum interface to receive the analyte from the second vacuum chamber and to a third vacuum pump, the first vacuum pump or the second vacuum pump being used as a forepump of the third vacuum pump.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2023
    Assignee: SHIMADZU CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yiming Wang, Wenjian Sun
  • Patent number: 11651928
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are apparatuses and systems for reentrant fluid delivery techniques. An example system includes at least a fluid delivery conduit extending between first and second electrical potentials, wherein the fluid delivery conduit is formed into a tilted helical so that a fluid flowing through the fluid delivery conduit experiences an electric field reversal through each winding of the fluid delivery conduit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2023
    Inventor: James B McGinn
  • Patent number: 11651931
    Abstract: An apparatus includes an ion chamber and a valve assembly. The ion chamber may include a housing enclosing a gas and one or more electrodes. The valve assembly is coupled to the ion chamber allowing control of replacement of the gas within the housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2023
    Assignee: VARIAN MEDICAL SYSTEMS, INC.
    Inventors: Amir Shojaei, Philip Adamson, Flavio Poehlmann-Martins
  • Patent number: 11640895
    Abstract: There is provided a sample holder capable of reducing positional deviation of a cartridge in the heightwise direction of a sample. The sample holder includes the cartridge and a holder base having a mounting portion for the cartridge. The mounting portion includes a placement surface, a first tilted surface, and a rotary drive mechanism for imparting a rotary force to the cartridge. The cartridge includes an opposing first tilted surface opposite to the first tilted surface of the mounting portion. As the rotary drive mechanism imparts the rotary force to the cartridge, the first tilted surface of the cartridge is pressed against the first tilted surface of the mounting portion, whereby the cartridge is pressed against the placement surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 7, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2023
    Assignee: JEOL Ltd.
    Inventors: Shuichi Yuasa, Takahisa Kawamura
  • Patent number: 11633510
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for irradiating a fluid containing a material to be irradiated, comprising at least one irradiation chamber having at least one inlet port and outlet port, at least one fluid cooling chamber having at least one inlet port and outlet port, one or more UV radiation sources coupled to the irradiation chamber(s); and at least one heat exchange mechanism thermally coupled to the radiation source(s) and the cooling chamber(s). At least a portion of the interior surface of the cooling chamber(s) may comprise at least a portion of the exterior surface of the irradiation chamber(s) so the cooling chamber(s) is in fluid communication with the irradiation chamber(s).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2023
    Assignee: AQUISENSE TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Jennifer Godwin Pagan, Steven Franklin Pugh, John Krause, Oliver Lawal, Richard Mark Simons
  • Patent number: 11631569
    Abstract: Provided is a charged particle beam system capable of reducing the force applied to a sample when a chuck device grips the sample. The charged particle beam system is typified by an electron microscope including a sample chamber, a sample exchange chamber connected to the sample chamber, a sample container capable of being removably attached in the sample exchange chamber, and a transport device for transporting the sample between the sample container and the sample exchange chamber. The transport device includes the chuck device for gripping the sample, a drive mechanism for moving the chuck device in a given direction, a mechanical driver for actuating the chuck device, and a power transmission mechanism for transmitting power of the mechanical driver to the chuck device. The power transmission mechanism includes a shaft and a resilient member that elastically deforms when a force in the given direction is applied to the shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 7, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2023
    Assignee: JEOL Ltd.
    Inventor: Shuichi Yuasa
  • Patent number: 11630080
    Abstract: Synchronized ion modification systems and techniques are described. An ion modifier can be used to modify a portion of ions that enter a drift chamber via a gate that controls entry of the ions to the drift chamber. A controller that is communicatively coupled to the ion modifier is configured to control the ion modifier to select a portion of the ion to be modified. In embodiments, the controller selects the portion based on a detector's previous response to other ions that are formed from a sample from which the ions were formed. The other ions, for example, correspond to ions that are associated with a peak in previous operation of a spectrometer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2023
    Assignee: Smiths Detection—Watford LTD.
    Inventors: Stephen J. Taylor, Jonathan R. Atkinson